Zingisa Centwa was allegedly tricked by her attacker before being raped and murdered. Her body was dumped beside an outside toilet near her murderer's home.
Zingisa Centwa was allegedly tricked by her attacker before being raped and murdered. Her body was dumped beside an outside toilet near her murderer's home.
Centwa's body was found in Lukwe Street, Joza, two days after she disappeared from her home on 21 December 2010.
Centwa's mother, Faniswa Centwa, wept as details emerged in the Grahamstown High Court on Monday about the rape and murder of the Nombulelo High School matriculant.
She described her daughter as a compassionate, responsible teenager, who had wanted to become a social worker.
The publication of the 2010 matric results shortly after her death showed that the 18-year-old had passed with flying colours.
On Monday, Judge Nomathamsanqa Beshe found Mvuzo Matebese, 18, guilty of the rape and murder of Centwa. Matebese pleaded guilty to all charges.
Matebese was arrested shortly after Centwa's body was found and abandoned his bail application in January, after crowds of protesters gathered outside the court.
According to the court indictment, Centwa had been in a relationship with Matebese's cousin. On that day, Matebese allegedly lured Centwa to his room by telling that her boyfriend had died in prison, and that he wanted to discuss the matter with her face to face.
He then raped her, hit her on the head to subdue her and strangled her. He hid her body under his bed and later dumped it near his neighbour's outside toilet, where it was discovered the following morning.
Questionable testimony
In a statement read by his lawyer, Deon Geldenhuys, Matebese denied having planned to rape or kill Centwa, or having lured her to her death.
“On 21 December the deceased came to my house. She asked me to accompany her somewhere, but before we could leave the two of us started arguing about whether my cousin had died in prison or not," Matebese said.
In his statement, Matebese said he'd asked Centwa to have sex with him and she'd refused. He had hit her several times on the head with his fist as she struggled to get away.
"I became scared that the deceased would lay a charge of rape against me. I then took a towel and rolled it up and strangled her with it. I hid the deceased's body under my bed, until I took the body to a nearby spot two houses away in the early hours of 23 December, where it was discovered," Matebese said in his statement.
However, district surgeon Dr Stuart Dwyer, said the post-mortem evidence showed that Centwa had been strangled with something narrower than a towel, possibly a belt.
While Geldenhuys asked the court to convict his client on the basis of his plea explanation and said the accused had been frank in his disclosure, counsel for the state, Buks Coetzee, said Matebese had not been forthcoming with the truth and had not shown remorse.
Judge Beshe postponed the case to 24 October for a pre-sentencing report to be obtained. Matebese has no previous convictions.
